Addiction and Surgery

I decided to link up the presentation on addictions with the presentation on plastic surgeries. I think both are interesting because their presence in our society has sort of exploded in the last few years. As the group pointed out, the amount of things that people are now going to rehab for has gotten out of control: drugs and alcohol, sure, but sex and internet gaming? It seems less about that which we cannot control then that which we've simply chosen NOT to control. The line between simple irresponsible behavior and addiction seems to be moving further and further to accommodate our society's inability to control itself. And the plastic surgery group made it very clear that an insane amount of money is being spent each year on entirely optional surgeries, and the surgeries themselves are becoming even more efficient in order to get more surgeries in less time.

It seems like the abundance of what we now call “addicts” and people who are, well addicted, to plastic surgery, might be a sort of circulating reference. We've established through the semester that most people are at the very least uncomfortable with, if not afraid of, what they don't understand. In the past, addictions were simply thought of as immoral behavior. It was not entirely understood why some people were more apt to become addicted to negative things. Now, admittedly, some things are addictive, like drugs and alcohol, and rehabs for truly addictive substances are a necessary thing in our society. But once the black box around addiction is taken away (though arguably the genetic argument for addiction is still a black box), people become more willing to accept it's existence. Since people can place addiction as something out of their control, can categorize it as a genetic problem, then they are more comfortable with the idea. More and more people begin claiming their problems stem from addiction, and it starts a landslide effect.

I think plastic surgery is working the same way (arguably, the obscene amount of surgeries wouldn't be happening if society's acceptance of obsessive behaviors hadn't occurred first). Surgery used to be something that people were afraid of. A person cutting up their body, even when it was necessary, was not something the average person would enter into lightly. But now it has become common place. Since more and more celebrities, or wealthy people, or even the middle class, have begun getting face lifts, and breast enhancements, and liposuction, the trickle down effect occurs. It becomes typical, the black box is removed when the science improves, and what used to be a terrifying experience has become a moderately eventful weekend.